Pensions ...the variations

very misguided, there are plenty of pensioners in France on well below that figure, especially msa pensions, Germany has some very hard-up pensioners too, French télé has had some good documentaires recently underlying the problems there.Yet another example of the uk trash press painting what ever picture it wants to try and sway opinion!!! :open_mouth:

I think you are correct, when you say that it is sometimes hard for those who receive, who think they have nothing to offer in return…(for some folk, genuine kindness can be one of the hardest things to accept.)

Older folk…who would have been the ones to do the “looking after” in their younger years…may have difficulty coming to terms with their changed circumstances.

So, what should an elderly person do… … should they move away from their neighbourhood…into town? into an Old Folks’ Home ?.. or stay in their own home and enjoy/suffer the companionship and support of friends and family ?? :smile::smile::smile:

(Rightly or wrongly… around here the OF Home is viewed as one-step-from-Death and folk will do all they can to stay in their own home.)

Some people are easier to have their opinions swayed than others.:wink:

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So there are people living on bellow 7.000 euros per year?
ok so they grow some veg and keep chickens.
They feel cold in winter and they walk to the nearest shop for
some milk or cheese.
They do not have a TV and they have no insurance cover on
their home.
No extra medical insurance.
They do not celebrate christmas and birthdays.
They certainly do not have holidays or guests …because guests
cost money.
Suppose it can be done if you have no choice.
How many SF members live this life?
Anyone out there.

Moving into town…more exspensive.
A “home” who pays for it?#
And who will be your friend in Town?

Is Anna typing her Biography or a graph of pension payments worldwide,

Neither - just spending time trying to find a way to put things inoffensively, because you have a way of jumping down my throat if I’m not careful!.

I don’t know the exact figures for each benefit but people on low incomes in France benefit, for instance, from:

subsidised electricity - if your income is below a certain figure you’re automatically entitled to a “social” electricity tarif from edf, all you have to do is register for it. This is one of the things that the extra payments on our edf bills go towards - remember all the fuss a few years ago when people tried to contest these payments (not the backdated charges, the other thing about sponsoring green energy production)?

healthcare costs covered in full - below a certain threshold all your medical expenses are covered 100%, above that threshold but below a second threshold you get assistance with paying for your mutuelle

exemption from property taxes and TV contribution subject to age and income

and no doubt other things too.

I think I could be quite happy on 7k a year if I had no taxes to pay, no medical costs to pay and cheap electricity,

But as others have said, you can’t look at this in isolation. It doesn’t come to people as a surprise. Nobody suddenly becomes old and discovers out of the blue that all they have is 7k to live on. It’s predictable, we see it coming and we have plenty of opportunity to do something about it. We all have older relatives and we see how they cope, all the information is out there, it’s a subject that’s often discussed and in the media. If, even though we know the state pension is small, we decide to rely on that rather than take personal responsibility, then what’s the point in moaning when things turn out exactly as we expected?

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Of course… the best answer is to stay home… accept all the help/assistance and continue a long, happy life…:smile::smile::smile:

What goes around, comes around. :grinning:

Folk who have been helpful in the past do not have difficulty finding folk to help them if/when they have a need themselves.

Folk who have been miserable as sin and/or unhelpful…they will find helpers but not necessarily in such abundance…:expressionless:

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Ah you really and truely would manage on 7.000.Anna.
who else could?
So no car.no holiday. no new clothes and no insurance.
No animal friend to love.
what would the 125 euros per week get you?

hmmm
Stella do you have a car?

OK… I give in… yes, I do have a car. So what…

At the moment it has no engine… in fact it has not been working for a few months now.

When we first came over (with car) we bought bicycles at Leclerc…:heart_eyes:

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As you rightly say, it’s predictable. Unfortunately it’s also predictable that many haven’t had the foresight to prepare for retirement by making other arrangements, private pensions etc. For young people today there is the workplace pension which they and their employer both pay into. Hopefully that will go some way towards making retirement a little more comfortable. It’s imperative that young people understand that ignoring their retirement just isn’t an option.

ok and our car is more than 20years old but we need it because
we can not ask for help…people have things to do with their time.
Our close friends in the village have been amazing and so kind.
You have admitted that no one wants to rely on others ( some of you)…and should
have our own financial security so why should we depend on others for transportation?

Barbara, I’ve been self employed for most of my life and there have been years when I have survived on less than that. I wouldn’t like to do it year in year out but it’s taught me that you don’t need nearly as much money as you think you do. Happiness is a state of mind, not money in your pocket.

What would 125€ a week get me, well a grocery budget of 40€ would feed me quite well, I’d need to set aside another 40€ or so for telecoms, water , insurance and other bills, and then I could decide what to do with the rest.

I don’t need a car although at present I have one, because I planned ahead and bought a house within walking distance of town and public transport.

I’ll never forget one occasion many years ago, I was living in Balham, S London, I’d been to the shops and hadn’t been able to afford everything I wanted, I think I’d had to choose between butter and washing-up liquid or something like that, I often had to make that kind of choice in those days. So I was walking home feeling a bit down with my eyes on the ground, and I saw a ten pound note on the pavement. I picked it up, went back to the shops and finished my shopping, and a queen couldn’t have been happier that day.

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Agree Chris,we all have different ideas as to the best way of providing for retirment.
But some people are not “bright” and they feel that they are hard done by.
What happens to these people.

That explains why you’re not too worried by the speed limit reduction. :slight_smile:

Two of my neighbors lived on one UK OAP for many years. The lived quite comfortably, ran a car and had visitors. The did have holidays but I think they were subsidized by their children who accompanied them. They had a posh smart TV and three dogs. Their saving grace was that their house was paid for and they had a wood which provided their firewood. All their savings had been spent renovating their home.
The problem is one of them didn’t like living in France so they returned to the UK. At first they were in big trouble as renting somewhere to live swallowed their pension income so they both went back to work. Once they had sold their French house they managed to buy a mobile home on a residential site but he still has to work part time to pay the bills. To me their current situation is depressing but it seems to suit them. The only glimmer of hope on the horizon is that she has now only five years to go before she reaches 66 and will be able to receive her pension as well.

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Mmm… I think perhaps…you have outlined a basic difference between your life and mine…

Around here, in the main, folk do not have to ask…this is a close community and everyone knows (more or less) what is going on in every family…so help is offered… freely, with no strings attached. A good way to live.

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I’d rather be here and poor (in some people’s eyes) than in UK and poor… it’s a no-brainer as far as I am concerned…

but we are all different…

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No excuse for feeling hard done by Barbara. There are plenty of examples of people who’ve neglected to prepare for there retirement amongst the older generation. If you don’t think the State is going to provide, you’d be pretty stupid not to make your own provisions…I’m certainly guilty of not paying enough into my private pension…

I don’t think you need to be particularly bright. It’s a question of attitude, not a question of intelligence. Anyone who is bright enough to manage their household/personal finances on a day to day basis through their lives, is surely bright enough to understand the concept of retiring and being on a pension. Anyone who isn’t capable of budgeting for themselves, presumably has a strategy in place or they would have run into trouble long before retirement age; they will have help from a family member or social services.